El Freako
by slurredspeech
Summary: The freak show has come to town and a bored Jessica drags Bella along. With promises of mind-reading men and psychic girls, they think it's just a bit of fun. Little do they know it could change Bella's life forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey. Thanks for taking the interest to read this. I'm not really sure if it's the kind of thing people really want to read, but I found it in my livejournal and thought I'd tweak it a bit and publish it here. It's my first fanfic in a while. **

"I can't believe you're making me do this," I said, grabbing Jessica's arm to stop myself from falling through the thick bushes. We were 'strolling' through the forest, on our way to Jessica's idea of fun.  
>We'd all seen the posters, secretly stuck on the inside of people's lockers, passed around at lunch.<br>The annual 'freak show' had arrived at our tiny town, Forks, and I had been conned into going. Me, Bella Swan, daughter of the Chief of Police, was going to an illegal, horrific, freak show.

"Come on Bella! It's something interesting, finally. We're stuck in this town for another year. We might as well make it fun." Jess sighed, pulling me out of the bush onto the path, thankfully. I may not have been as clumsy now that I'd grown up from baby-Bella, but I definitely preferred straight ground.  
>We were headed towards the disused theatre on the boundary between Forks and La Push, the small reservation next to our town. On buying our tickets we had to promise we wouldn't tell anybody else where this thing was being held- they'd taken our details but really didn't need to, Forks is so small they could find anything out about anyone they wanted.<p>

As we got closer to our destination, I thought about the flyer we'd been given. It was currently located at the bottom of my underwear drawer- if my Dad found it there'd be no end to the grounding. Even at nearly 18. The flyer had advertised a mind-reading boy, an apparently psychic girl, a scarred man who could make you feel anything he wanted just by looking at you, and a man who drank the blood of animals. It was clearly supposed to be different from the average two headed man, bearded woman kind of freak show. This one was dangerous to the audience, but, like the fool I was, I agreed to be dragged along. I'm not going to lie; I was also a little intrigued. I knew it was immoral, but we weren't going to laugh at these people. We were legitimately interested in their 'freakishness'.

Before I knew it we'd found the desolate theatre and a small queue outside. This queue was constantly moving- I guessed so as to not draw unwanted attention. Jessica squealed next to me.

"I'm so excited! Are you?" she asked.  
>"I wouldn't go that far." I was dragged through the door by Jess, who handed a hooded guy our tickets. We followed the crowd into a small hallway, where an icy-looking platinum blonde girl stood. She could only have been twenty at the most, but her cold eyes and hard expression made sure everybody knew she wouldn't take any shit. Her skin was so pale she looked ill, but in the most beautiful way possible.<p>

"Nothing you see here is to be talked about once you get outside," she said. "We have all of your details, and if any of this gets to the police we will know who did it. You're to go into the theatre and sit down. Be very still. Once the show starts, do not get up until it's over. If a member of the show talks to you, talk back, but don't approach them. If you can't take it, leave now."

Jessica stared at the girl with wide eyes.  
>"You sure you wanna do this?" I asked.<br>"Of course I do. We've come this far." And with that, we were pushed into the theatre. I let out a gasp of horror when I saw the stage- it was separated from the seats by a screen of barbed wire. I'd known it might be pretty horrific, but I'd assumed it was mostly rumours. Maybe it was going to be really scary after all.  
>We ended up on the fifth row back, sitting next to some rowdy kids from the reservation. Typically, they were moving about and making noise. I hoped they didn't draw any attention to us; I just wanted to watch the show and go home.<br>As the theatre filled up the lights gradually dimmed, and as it got darker Jess gripped my hand harder.  
>"I'm almost starting to regret this," she whispered. I nodded my head in agreement.<br>"We've got to watch it though, we're here now," I said, not wanting to have to leave and make a scene.

"Good evening," a musical voice said from the darkness. A spotlight appeared at the corner of the stage and a blonde man with the same icy look as the woman from the hall glided to the centre.  
>"Tonight you will not be watching two headed men and bearded ladies. You will be watching real, dangerous people. If you aren't still and careful, they can hurt you. I beg you will stay sitting down, and that you will watch, and that once you've left this hall you forget what you have seen."<br>The boys next to us scoffed, earning a displeased glance from the man on stage.

"Firstly, I bring you Emmett the wolf-eater. He survives off the blood of animals. Be very still and stay where you are." With that, the man disappeared quite literally, and a couple of hooded people crept out from the darkness at the side of the stage. They were dragging a cage holding two wolves, appearing to have no trouble hauling the heavy load. The wolves were going mental, fighting and tearing at each other.  
>I could practically feel Jess shaking next to me, but too scared to speak or even move I stared at the stage. Nothing happened for a long moment.<br>Suddenly someone pounced on the cage. No warning, he appeared hissing and spitting. The man was huge with muscle and as pale as everyone else running this show. He was shirtless, and wasn't unattractive at all. He tore into the cage with no trouble at all, causing the wolves to attempt to run away. Seemingly instantly Emmett grabbed one, pouncing on it and biting into its fur. Jessica grabbed my arm. I was horrified. Never in my seventeen years, even in films, had I seen something so disturbing. Yet I couldn't stop looking.  
>He repeated the same with the other wolf, who had given up trying to get away when the first one had…died. At the end of it all, Emmett looked up at the audience with blood-covered lips, snarling. He grabbed at the barbed wire, growling.<br>"Fuck!" one of the boys yelled, causing the monster on stage to look in our direction and rattle the wire. The hooded people appeared again, grabbing Emmett and hauling him from the stage.  
>What had we let ourselves in for?<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, thanks to everyone who put this on story alert. Wasn't expecting anything! I'm literally just writing this as it flows out of my brain. I don't have a beta and I'm not really editing it much myself, it's probably the worst thing I've ever written. Just something to help along my writers block for the novel I'm attempting to write (ha, I've done about 500 words if that, but whatever). I'm quite into the idea and I just want to get it all out. Thanks for reading.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything. I'm not getting any money from this etc etc etc. **

The night progressed in a similar fashion. Everything stayed behind the barbed wire. We saw a girl they called Psychic Ally, she had the same pallid skin as all the other people we'd seen, yet was strangely beautiful. Her eyes were a piercing amber colour and she stared at the audience with unbelievable intensity. At one point she looked at a woman sitting in the row in front of us.  
>"Your name is Maggie. You're taking your kids to the zoo this weekend and you've decided to quit your job because you hate it. After this you're going to see the guy you're cheating on your husband with."<br>Maggie gasped in shock, looking away from Ally, who was gripping the wire and snarling.

Next act up was astonishing. The man was scarred as hell. All over his face were jagged, thin scars, and he had huge bags under his eyes. He entered the stage slowly, nervously looking at each person on the front row. His lips curled and he gripped the wire so tight I was sure his hands would bleed.  
>No words were spoken, but he was looking in our direction and suddenly I was calm. I wasn't worried anymore. The man wouldn't hurt us, none of them would. We'd watch and go home and it would be lovely. Just as quickly people were fighting. I was filled with this anger, everyone was an enemy, what were they all doing here? Too close in my personal space and hitting each other and the lady called Maggie was bleeding and, oh, then everything was glorious. I was hugging Jessica and then one of the boys from the reservation was kissing me on the cheek and we were dancing in the aisles. As quickly as it happened, it was over, and we returned to our seats in confusion. The man was led from the stage by the hooded people, his face contorted with what looked like pain.<p>

"Oh my God," Jessica mouthed, holding on to the arms of her chair. I took a shaky breath. We were both scared as hell, but there was no way we were leaving now. This was like magic. Freaky magic.

Next up we had Edward the mind reader. I was sceptical of this on reading the flyer but the things I'd seen in the past hour or so were amazing. I was ready to believe anything.  
>He briskly entered the stage, and stared at the audience. There were a few gasps of shock.<br>Edward had blood red eyes and amazing reddish brown hair I'd ever seen. Obviously, I was most drawn to the eyes. Were they contacts? It was hard to imagine they were anything but his true eye colour after the other displays of the night.  
>He was probably the hottest person I'd seen in real life. Standing in the centre of the stage, he was very still. His head was down and his hands were in fists. Slowly, he drew his head up to look at the crowd.<br>"You're thinking about how your girlfriend didn't want you to come here tonight." Edward looked at one of the guys sitting next to us.  
>"Now you're thinking that this is 'a load of bullshit'. It's not. I can prove that because now you're thinking about the girls sitting next to you, and about how your drugs are waiting with your dealer and you didn't want me to hear that, did you?"<br>The guy tore out of his chair, shouting.  
>"Shut up man! I thought this was pretend, a bit of fun but you're all really freaks! It's weird! Why are you doing this?"<br>Edwards face contorted and he snarled.  
>"You chose to come, you heard the warnings."<br>The boy stormed to the stage, holding the wire. I gasped. He was so angry, for such a little reason.  
>"Why the wire?" he asked.<br>"To keep you safe. Sit down, or one of the staff will see you out." Edward held onto a little table that had been placed at the side of the stage, and suddenly it crumbled beneath his hands. "I mean it."

The boy shook the wire.  
>"This is ridiculous. You're charging people money to watch you do things you were born doing. Except that guy with the wolf, what was that?"<br>Edward strode to the front.  
>"It's our living. What's your name?"<br>"It's Jacob. You gonna stop this stupid game now or what?"

People were starting to leave, and I noticed the woman from the hallway guiding people out. Edward was shaking now, and had gripped the wire right in front of Jacob's face.  
>"Leave. Now." He snarled, and I swear I heard him growl as he shook the wire, threatening to knock it out of whatever was holding it.<br>"What if I don't!" Jacob yelled. He was really up close to the wire, screaming in Edward's face and an irrational part of me wanted to go and drag him back. Jessica had buried her face into my shoulder, quite uncomfortably.  
>I was about to ask her if she wanted to leave, when the hooded figures from before returned to the stage and dragged Edward away. As I stared, he looked into the audience. It was mainly empty now, a few of Jacobs friends crowded the stage and there were a couple of groups watching, and so as Edward scanned the remaining audience, he caught my eye. I stilled instantly, unable to look away. He didn't stop staring at me, even as he was pulled through the thick curtains dividing the stage and the backstage area.<p>

**Please review :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Ahh! Thanks for the positive vibes. I'm not feeling this chapter but it has to be done to get to where we're going! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight, I don't own Bella Swan, I don't own Back To The Future. I own nothing except the words that have come out of my head. **

"C'mon, let's get out of here, you were right, we shouldn't have come," Jess said. I followed her up the aisle and into the hallway.

"I don't get why that guy from the rez made such a huge deal of it all though, it doesn't make sense," I questioned, pushing through the old, wooden doors at the front. As we exited the building, I noticed Jess looked a bit dazed.  
>"Jess, did you hear me?" She raised her eyebrow.<br>"You didn't say anything," she replied, pushing her hair out of her face. I repeated my question about Jacob.  
>"What are you talking about? We didn't see anyone from the reservation." Jess laughed. We walked up the barely lit path towards the joys of the forest shortcut, our shoes scraping on the uneven footpath. A few people still milled around the theatre front, chatting with each other. I wanted to be as far away as possible, and quick.<br>"Yeah, we did! They were sitting next to us; one of them had an argument with the mind reader…?" I exclaimed. Had Jess gone mad, or was she messing around?  
>"What mind reader? Bella, we've just been to a midnight showing of Back to the Future, I really don't know what's wrong with you." Jess had always had a way of dismissing people, and quickly ending conversations. She deftly jumped through the bush separating the nice, safe, pedestrianized walkway and the gloomy forest area of our town.<br>"I've never seen that film in my life Jessica; we were just at the freak show! It was your idea! Are you messing around with me or have you lost your memory or something?" I shouted, tripping slightly on a rogue branch. I swore under my breath.  
>"Bella, I really don't know what you're talking about. We saw the film and then we came out and now it's nearly three am and I'm majorly late. Let's go!"<p>

"Ah, I know what this is," I said as we trampled through the bushes. "This is all a game. You saw all the stuff they did at the freak show and now you're pretending they've wiped your memory. That's ok. We'll talk about the show tomorrow when you realise this isn't funny."  
>I was quite proud of my realisation and almost didn't notice when Jessica stopped walking.<br>"No, Bella, you're really the one not being funny. We saw a movie tonight. They reopened the theatre just for the night. I don't get why you think this is cool?"  
>We clambered back over to a footpath, and headed round the corner to where we'd parked our cars.<br>"It's ok; we'll pretend you're right for tonight ok? I'll see you at school tomorrow," I said, pressing the unlock button on my key fob.  
>"Yeah, if I don't sleep through my alarm dreaming of the movie we just saw." Jess gave me a pointed look and mouthed the word 'movie'.<br>I chuckled. Jess was so weird sometimes. I really would tell my father we'd seen a movie though, that was a good excuse.

I had a dream that night, in my meagre three hours of sleep, in which Ally the psychic came to visit me.  
>"Things are dangerous now," she whispered, ghost like and floaty around the forest. I was sitting on a throne in the middle of a clearing, and Ally was dancing in a circle in front of me.<br>"Why!" I cried, distressed. She just looked at me and winked, and suddenly transformed into the icy blonde who showed us into the auditorium.  
>"Get away. Quickly."<br>I woke up with tears streaming down my face, and I was highly confused. Putting it down to lack of sleep, I washed and dressed slowly, and grabbed a cereal bar from my stash in the cupboard.

"You were late last night," my father said from his perch at the kitchen table. I nodded, chewing my breakfast.  
>"Yeah, sorry. They reopened the old theatre for a night to show Back to the Future and Jess dragged me along." I lied. His eyes lit up and for a moment he looked wistful.<br>"Your mom and I used to watch that all the time before she left. You enjoy it?"  
>"Uh, yeah. Time travelly stuff. What's not to like?"<br>I bluffed my way through a short chat about the movie, nodding and grinning at suitable moments, and then my dad had to rush off to work. I sighed in relief that my lie had worked and grabbed my bag, heading to school. I needed to find Jessica as soon as possible and make sure she was just bullshitting about the movie. After the dream I had, I was freaked out.

"Jess!" I yelled, weaving my way through the busy corridor. My bag was dragging on the ground and I was pretty sure most people wanted to hurt me right now for getting in their way but I had to speak to her.  
>"Hey!" she smiles. "I was just telling Angela how great the film was. Shame you missed it!" Angela was in our small group of friends, and being the daughter of the local priest, was on a strict curfew, compared to us at least.<br>"I know, I'm so annoyed," Angela sighed, adjusting her chic glasses. "I can't wait to finally be eighteen and just do what I want." I smiled a little in sympathy and we set off to class.  
>"It was the first time Bella even saw the movie, can you believe it! Who hasn't seen Back to the Future?" Jess giggled. I raised my eyebrow.<br>"I still haven't!" I said, nudging her shoulder. Angela looked at us both in confusion before shrugging.  
>"Gotta go guys, I'll see you later," she said as she departed.<p>

"God, are you still on about that Bella? I'm worried, I thought you were joking." Jess shook her head.  
>"We went to the freak show last night Jess," I whispered. "With the psychic lady and the guy that drinks wolf blood. I don't know why you're lying to everyone!"<br>"Because I'm not lying," she said. "We saw a movie, grow up."  
>I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. I really thought she might just be messing around, but Jessica wasn't able to carry on a prank this long. It wasn't even a good prank.<br>I made it through the rest of the day thinking of the show. As weird and scary as it had been, I'd really enjoyed it. I was so intrigued about how they'd managed to do what they did, and how they'd all had exactly the same strange beauty about them. The pale skin, the guarded movements. It had been like an intricate dance, only with wolves and fighting.  
>Somewhere in-between my science lesson and being hit on the head with a volleyball in Gym I decided my only action could be to go back to the show. It was running a couple more nights, it had to be. I could ask someone in the queue if they were looking forward to it, wait for them to come out afterward and ask them what they thought.<br>Then I'd know if Jessica was lying or not.

**Please let me know what you think :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**This is the worst chapter ever. I've written most of it drunk. I am a terrible writer. No excuses.  
>Don't own anything except my terrible writing. Love you all. <strong>

When I got home that night I shovelled down my dinner and made my excuses to my dad. Hoping he believed me, I headed to my car and climbed in. I didn't do talking to strangers so I was nervous, but I wasn't going to sit around and let Jessica laugh at me.  
>I parked my car in the same spot as the night before, and without Jess it took me a lot longer to tromp through the forest. I hoped I wasn't late. When I got to the theatre a there were still a few people milling around. One of them was a guy from school, so I took my chance.<br>"Hey Paul!" I greeted, and he waved.  
>"You here for the freak show too?" He sniggered and showed me his ticket. I grinned.<br>"Not tonight, saw it last night though." I replied, glad that I could go home and just ask Paul about the show the next day at school. Although, really Jessica could get to him that way. Maybe I should ask a stranger too, I thought.  
>"Sick! Was it any good? Worth the money?" Paul asked, almost bouncing up and down on his heels. We made small talk about the show until it was time for him to go in, and then I decided to sit in my car until the end of the show and ask some people what they'd thought. Planning on reading my book and maybe doing some school work, I headed over to the forest entrance.<br>Too late to change direction, I noticed some hooded men hanging around where I needed to be. Taking a deep breath I walked over anyway, having to pass right between their group to get into the forest.  
><em>'I'm gonna die oh my God they're gonna murder me oh please let them go away ahhh,' <em>I thought as I went, praying that for some reason they wouldn't notice me, or they'd be really nice and wouldn't say anything. Just as I thought I was safe, one of them grabbed my shoulder.  
>"What are you doing? Get off!" I shouted, trying to free myself, but he'd taken hold of my whole arm and was surprisingly strong. He took his hood down and flashed me his face.<br>It was the mind reader from last night.  
>"Come with us," he said, his voice low and charming, but also definite and stern.<br>"Why should I?" I asked, still trying to jerk my arm free. He wasn't letting go.  
>"I think you missed a vital part of last night's show, and we need you to see it." He grabbed my other arm.<br>"Let go! I don't understand, I saw the whole show." I was trembling now, trying to free myself pointlessly. His crew of men had surrounded me and we were now behind few trees, out of sight of anybody who might be able to help.  
>"We're not going to hurt you," Edward said. "We just need you to see something. We'll let you go after that, I promise."<br>"What do you need me to see?" I whispered, unable to look away from Edward's face.  
>"Back To The Future."<p>

I had to go with them after that. They must have known something, I'd thought. Everything would be explained and then I could smugly go back to see Jessica and it would be fine.  
>I thought it would be simple.<br>The group hoarded me to the back of the theatre and into a small room.  
>"I have to go and do my part of the show now," Edward said. "I'll leave you with Rosalie."<br>He left, and in walked the blonde from the corridor last night. She still looked icy and stiff, whilst simultaneously looking like some kind of model. She sat in front of me, not speaking, leaving me quite unsure of what to do.  
>"Carlisle will be here in a minute. He's the boss. He'll decide what we're doing about you," she said, looking bored and picking at her nails.<br>'Doing' with me? I thought they would just talk to me and I could go home!  
>"What?" I cried out, holding the chair they'd put me on.<br>"He'll decide what we're doing about you." Rosalie let out a sinister laugh. "Has it escaped your attention that everyone that comes out of here thinks they've seen a movie? Except you. We can't just let you go." Oh my God, I thought. I wished I'd ran from them, or better just not come back to the theatre.  
>"Is it…is it magic?" I asked, slowly, for fear of being laughed at. Rosalie smirked and sat up straighter in her chair.<br>"Confidential information that is. Like I said, wait for Carlisle," she said.  
>We sat in silence for a few minutes, me in complete fear of what these monsters could do to me, and Rosalie in apparent boredom of having to 'babysit' me. I stared at my battered shoes, willing something or someone to save me, but nobody knew I was here.<br>"Bella." I looked over to the voice, and a man had entered the room. It was the blonde man from the show, the introducer.  
>"Hello," he said, nodding to indicate he wanted a reply. I mumbled some kind of greeting.<br>"I'm Carlisle. I manage things around here. We seem to have had a problem with you, don't we?" Carlisle spoke kindly, but with a sense of smugness and arrogance, if that was possible. I didn't reply.  
>"I need to know what you remember from last night. Did you come here?" he asked.<br>"Yes. I saw the show. Obviously," I answered, more than confused. Carlisle nodded, and motioned to Rosalie to leave the room. She did so without any resistance, clipping her heels along the hardwood floor.  
>"That's ok. I'll just need you to leave again, and one of our men will be waiting for you." He held the door open for me and I shakily stood up. As I headed through a side corridor, I felt many eyes watching me.<br>An exit held a hooded figure again. It escorted me to a path leading to the front of the theatre.  
>"What have you seen tonight?" It asked. I looked at it, confused.<br>"Nothing, I've just been speaking to Carlisle," I replied. What did these people think they were doing?

I huffed in surprise as it grabbed me and hoisted me back in the direction I'd came.  
>"Nope, gonna have to go back," the figure said.<p>

What?


	5. Chapter 5

**I am SO sorry this has taken so long. I wanted to make it a longer, better chapter and I had a pretty busy week so it's not been possible to write much. This probably isn't much longer than the others, but please bear with me, I'm working on it.  
>Thank you all for your wonderful reviews.<strong>

**I kind of heavily borrow from the books here, and also do a bit of changing of facts (I think). I've tried to do my research as it's been so long since I read the books but it hasn't really worked, ahh.  
>So those bits are all thanks to Stephanie Meyer, none of this is mine except the basic idea and I'm not getting any money for this.<strong>

"What are you DOING?" I yelled, struggling pointlessly against the strength of the man. He chuckled.  
>"You didn't think we'd just let you go, did you?"<br>I tried to deduce who the figure was, but I didn't recognise his voice. He dragged me back to the room, where Rosalie was once more sitting and I was locked in with her.

"You couldn't have just pretended you'd seen the film, could you?" she said, twirling a piece of her perfect blonde hair around her finger. "All they would have done is asked you some questions about it and then let you go. Unless you got Ally. She'd have known you were lying."  
>I sat in silence for a moment.<br>"What about Edward? Can't he 'read minds'" I air quoted the last bit, and Rosalie sniggered. She mimicked my action and crossed her legs.  
>"Of course he can. We don't lie to get people to buy tickets. Edward can read everyone's mind but yours. That's why they're so interested in you." She stood up, all long legs and hair everywhere, and she crossed to the small window looking to the front of the theatre.<br>"But, he can really read minds? They can… can they all do what they said?" I asked, frantically trying to push all my thoughts out at once. I had thought it was a joke, and then at the show I'd not known what to think. But in all the hassle of the past hour I had stopped thinking about that altogether, I just wanted to know why I'd apparently seen a different show than everyone else.

"I've told you too much already. We'll wait for them all to finish the show."  
>"And then they'll let me go?" I asked, standing up. Rosalie held a hand out, as if to tell me not to come any closer. The room was small and in one stride I'd be next to her.<br>I sat back down and waited in silence. Eventually the door unlocked and Carlisle came back through, Edward in tow.  
>"Well, well, well," Carlisle said, looking almost gleeful. "I don't know what we can do with you now." He sat in the chair opposite, where Rosalie had been.<br>There was a taste in my mouth of fear and worry. Sitting here with three astonishingly good looking people in front of me, who for all I knew were murderers, felt remarkably like I was in a cell, awaiting my verdict.  
>"Ally says you're planning to go home when we're 'done with you'" Edward said. "But she doesn't say you plan to tell everyone. We could just let you go."<br>"But that would be boring, wouldn't it?" Rosalie smirked. Carlisle shrugged off his blazer, black with red trim, the opposite of a circus ringleader. It was all quiet for a moment, and Edward seemed to look at Carlisle in pain.  
>"Now now, Rosalie. Can you go and fetch Ally for me? We need her a moment," Carlisle placed his hand on her shoulder and she huffed, strutting out of the room like a teenager in a strop.<br>It struck me then that I didn't know how old any of these people were. All the performers had looked quite young, about eighteen or nineteen, but with an air of experience. Rosalie looked like a teenage model, been made to look older, although she pulled it off well. Carlisle looked older, but not old enough to be in charge of a freak show. All of their eyes were amber, except Edward's. His red eyes had disappeared and now I noted they were black. I guessed they just put in contacts to freak out the audience.  
>When Ally entered, I took a good look at her too. She looked about my age, and had long hair arranged into an odd style at the top of her head. Ally-the-mind-reader was what my teenage idol would have looked like if I'd ever been through that phase.<br>"Hello Bella," she practically sang. "It's so nice to meet you properly. I'm Ally,"  
>Was I supposed to jump up and give her a hug and tell her some facts about me? I sat, useless, in my little chair, not knowing what to do.<br>"Who are you all?" I asked, quietly. My adrenaline had long run out and now I was plain scared.  
>"We're freaks," Edward said, his hooded eyes staring intensely at me for just a second, before his face became rigid and he went back to looking at Carlisle. I didn't quite know what to say, but luckily Carlisle tutted at Edward's apathy.<br>"We're not freaks. We've…acquired out talents, and we want to make use of them. But they aren't widely appreciated by the general public. We just need to make sure you're not going to remind anyone."  
>Acquired? And as if I was going to be reminding anyone, with Jessica's reaction to my questions! A mental asylum wasn't something generally in my life plan, and I was pretty sure the 'freaks' weren't going to be backing me up.<p>

I watched the two men in front of me, silently communicating. Edward occasionally nodded. I may have been a bit innocent to this situation, but I could tell this was the mind reading. Before I could start to think about whether or not I believed this story, Carlisle spoke again.  
>"We have a very gifted member of our team. She's called Zafrina, and she wears a hooded robe. You've probably seen her, but you wouldn't know which figure she was. She projects a vision onto the audience as they leave, and makes them think they've been somewhere they haven't. Apparently, it doesn't work on you."<br>"What! None of this is real, it can't be," I exclaimed, an inch away from pinching myself to check I wasn't dreaming.  
>"It is," Edward said glumly, "You have some kind of protectant, something that stops these powers working on you."<br>"I don't believe this," I said, shaking my head. "These things don't happen; it was all supposed to be pretend!" I jumped up out of my chair, and the three people in front of me were instantly right against the far wall, as if they couldn't be close to me in any way. Taking a deep breath, I took the two small steps to the window and tried to breath in some fresh air. Ally looked upset. Edward still had the same pained look that had never left his face. And Carlisle? Carlisle looked calm and in control. He came to stand next to me, very slowly. 

"Unfortunately, this is real. All of our acts were…somewhat born with these abilities. But some don't work on you,"  
>I turned to face the room again, not wanting to have my back turned to any of these people.<br>"You're very quiet suddenly," Carlisle said. I hesitated before I answered.  
>"I'm still not sure what's going on. I need proof,"<p>

Ally was next to me in a flash. So quickly that I didn't even see her, she was next to me. I gasped, and shrank into the corner away from her.  
>"You're going to Florida in the summer before college to see your mom. You've decided not to go to the college there because you want freedom, and you know you won't get it with Renee snooping around. You're trading your car in for a truck before you go. You're getting your tongue pierced. Want more?" she asked.<br>Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. This couldn't be real. There was no way she could have known those things, things I hadn't even told Angela and Jessica.  
>Suddenly, I had a thought.<br>"If I have a protectant, why can you see my future?" I asked. "And why did my mood change with everyone else's when that guy was doing his thing?" Carlisle chuckled.  
>"We don't know. Whilst that's important, we need to know what to do with you." He said, and the three returned to the opposite wall. I stayed in my corner, now deathly scared.<br>They were all giving me the most menacing looks I think I'd ever received, and the wall wasn't providing me with enough distance.  
>"You can't tell anyone." Carlisle growled.<br>"If we let you go, you won't tell anyone. You won't be able to," Ally said. "I'll see if you decide to."  
>"Or we could keep you." Edward practically whispered. He was completely still. It didn't even look like he was breathing. My own breathing was shallow and panicked. I just hoped I didn't have an attack, I was sure that if I died this would be convenient for them.<br>"That could be fun!" Ally smiled, twirling in a circle. She lifted something from the top of her head and a long braid fell down her back.  
>"Please…" I gasped. "Just let me go. I won't tell anyone, who would believe me anyway?"<br>_Don't cry, don't cry, don't fucking cry,_ I thought to myself, repeating it in my head in the silence of the room. There was clearly some freaky communication going on here. 

"We'll let you go this once," Carlisle said, crossing to the door. "You've had a fright and we're not going to hurt you. But just know, we'll be watching you. We'll know if you try to tell anyone."  
>"Don't come back here," Edward growled.<br>"Rosalie will take you home," Alice said, back to her singsong voice and smiles. She led me out of the room and to a side corridor where Rosalie was standing, an eyebrow raised.  
>"We meet again. Let's not make this a regular occurrence, kay?"<p> 


End file.
